An official of Dhaka Metropolitan Police was suspended and three others were withdrawn and attached to Razarbagh police lines yesterday in connection with the abuse of a girl in front of Dhaka magistrate's court last week.

The chain of command in the police administration is not properly maintained due to political interference. The law enforcers who are recruited politically ignore their supervisors and always try to make the political leaders happy, thus distancing themselves from citizens.

Editorial

Brutal attacks on journalists that marked the past month blatantly demonstrate how vulnerable they have become while discharging their professional duties. In the last week, some police personnel attacked and manhandled three photojournalists of Prothom Alo in the line of duty. In quick succession, three court correspondents were beaten up and dragged and bundled into the police vehicle as they came forward to protect a teenage girl and her parents from police harassment. Add to these the attacks on two journalists in Pabna engineered by vested quarters.

Of late, prices of eggs and now, abnormal rise in poultry prices have become the subject of discussion for most city dwellers. According to even conservative estimates published by the government, poultry retail price has shot up by at least 22 percent in the last week alone. With current prices varying between Tk180 to Tk200 per kilo, depending on which city one resides in - Dhaka or Chittagong, one thing is painfully clear and i.e. that all forms of government interventions at arresting the hyperinflation being witnessed in kitchen markets have failed.

Sports

Old DOHS and Victoria Sporting Club are heading towards a June 8 showdown for the Dhaka Premier League title after they won their respective matches yesterday. Both have two Super League games in hand and although DOHS are leading the table on 22 points, their game against challengers Victoria on the last day of the league, by all measures, will decide the winners, but none can afford to drop points in the next round of matches.

Muktijoddha Sangsad kept their hopes of a maiden professional league title alive with a 3-0 victory over a hapless Brothers Union at the Bangabandhu National Stadium yesterday. The All Reds, who finished runners-up in the last edition of the top tier league, cut Abahani's lead at the top of the Grameenphone Bangladesh Premier League table to two points with their fourth win in five matches.

Flame Boys defeated Bangladesh Boys by 63-50 points in an entertaining encounter of the Citycell Premier Division Basketball League at the Dhanmondi Basketball Gymnasium yesterday. The winners led the first-half by 36-33 points. Sakib and Shuvo scored 16 and 14 points respectively for Flame Boys.

Business

Stock investors may not receive any new incentives in the next fiscal year, but the existing ones will continue, according to an early indication from the finance ministry and the National Board of Revenue.

Top ministers, business leaders and economists have all cried out seeking extraordinary attention from the government to steer the country out of the current energy crunch for the greater interest of industrialisation.

The National Committee to Protect Oil, Gas, Mineral Resources, Power and Ports yesterday urged the government to allocate fund in the upcoming national budget for the renovation and reopening of all closed state-run power plants.

Foreign Minister Dipu Moni yesterday observed that all security challenges can be addressed through dialogue and appreciation of nations' perspectives to ensure peace and stability in the South Asian region.

National

Naodanga Bridge over the Baromashiya River in Naodanga union under Phulbari upazila of the district poses risk of serious accident for users as two pillars in the middle of the 82-metre-long bridge subsided one year ago following indiscriminate sand-lifting by some local influential people.

Activists and supporters of the newly formed district Jatiyatabadi Jubo Dal convening committee yesterday brought out a procession from the party office on Shahid Mintu Road in Magura town in protest against attack on their leaders by their intra-rival rivals the previous day.

Teachers of non government college observed a token hunger strike in front of Shah Neyamotullah College in the district town yesterday to press home their seven-point demand including increasing house rent.

Three young men were electrocuted at Soto Kabilpur village in Chougacha upazila of Jessore district early yesterday. The victims are Tofazzal Hossain, 25, Ayub Hossain, 21, sons of Abdul Kader and Raju Ahmed, 22, son of Abdur Rob of the village. Police quoting locals said the three came in contact with a live electric wire when they were repairing a generator.

Nine readymade garments shops were gutted in a fire at Hawkers Market in Brahmanbaria municipality area on Friday night. Police said the fire originating from an electric short circuit at a shop at around 10:00pm and soon engulfed the adjacent nine shops. On information, two units from Brahmanbaria fire service rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze after an hour.

Members of the Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested a youth along with a shutter gun from Chadva area at Chandva village in Atghoria upazila on Friday night. The arrestee is Johurul Islam, 28, son of Rahman Pramanik of Kumareshwar village in the upazila. KM Tanvir Anwar, commander of Rab-12, said they raided the area at around 9:00pm and arrested Johurul along with the firearm.

A human chain was formed in front of Barisal Ashwani Kumar Hall yesterday to press home the demand for an upazila, comprising eight unions on the eastern bank of the Kirtonkhola River. Barisal Purbancholio Unnayan Parishad organised the programme. At the human chain, the speakers said due to river erosion, the residents of eight out of 10 unions under Barisal Sadar upazila face serious problems to perform their activities at the upazila headquarters. They urged the government to meet their demand immediately. Otherwise, they threatened to continue their agitation.

Police arrested six criminals along with 13 sharp weapons from Dharampur area in Sadar upazila on Friday morning. The arrestees are Zakir Hossain, Abu Sayem, Uzzal Sarker, Al Amin, Rony and Sohrab. Police said they arrested the six with sharp weapons as they went to the area take control of a disputed land at around 11:00am.

Robbers looted money and other valuables from a house after stabbing the house owner at Krishnapur village in Jhikargachha upazila early Friday. Police said a gang of 8-10 robbers stormed into the house of Shamsur Rahman, son of Ahmad Khan, at around 1:00am and stabbed him indiscriminately. Later, the gang took away money, gold ornaments and other valuables worth Tk 3.60 lakh . The victim was admitted to a local hospital.

Serbia's new president on Friday denied genocide took place in Srebrencia, contradicting the international criminal prosecution of Serbian leaders from the Yugoslav wars and angering the Muslim co-president of Bosnia.

-Queen Victoria was the last and the only previous British monarch to celebrate a diamond jubilee, in 1897. Queen Elizabeth II is the oldest British monarch to celebrate one, being 85 on the 60th anniversary of her accession, while Victoria was 77.

OP-ED

Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Moghul emperor was not the sovereign of India. He ruled only over the Red Fort in Delhi. But he was a consummate Urdu poet. In one of his ramblings, he wrote a ghazal, when translated reads: "I asked for a long life/ I received four days/ Two passed in desire, two in waiting."

In the forty years since independence Bangladesh has rotated between electoral democracy and military rule, and between parliamentary and presidential systems of government. The frequent systemic changes have hindered the institutionalisation of democracy and adversely affected the development of an effective parliament.